Lizzo Shuts Down ‘Biggest Criticism’: That She Makes Music For White Audiences

By Kimberley Richards

“I am not making music for white people. I am a Black woman, I am making music from my Black experience,” the singer told Vanity Fair.

Lizzo has faced fatphobic bullying and internet attacks as a celebrity, but she told Vanity Fair in a profile published Tuesday that she is most bothered by assumptions that she makes music for white audiences.

The “About Damn Time” singer, who is on the publication’s November cover, said the notion that some Black musicians make music for white people is “such a critical conversation.” She said it’s “probably the biggest criticism” that she has received as an artist.

“When Black people see a lot of white people in the audience, they think, well this isn’t for me, this is for them,” she said. “The thing is, when a Black artist reaches a certain level of popularity, it’s going to be a predominantly white crowd.”

Lizzo said Black artists like Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Tina Turner, Diana Ross and Beyoncé are examples of musicians she believes also happen to draw crowds that are “overwhelmingly white.”

The singer then emphasized that she does not make music for white audiences, regardless of what members of her audience look like.

“I am not making music for white people. I am a Black woman, I am making music from my Black experience, for me to heal myself [from] the experience we call life,” she said. “If I can help other people, hell yeah. Because we are the most marginalized and neglected people in this country. We need self-love and self-love anthems more than anybody.”

Read the rest of the article.

Lizzo has also shown she is not afraid to take accountability.

More Black culture news.